Blog Archives
Can You (Personally) Worship God Without A Band or A Song?
Can You (personally) Worship Without A Band or A Song?
I remember sitting in a church service as a young pastor explained why they were beginning a building project. “We are growing so fast, we do not have room to put everyone.” His assessment of the situation was correct. They didn’t have room for all the people who were coming. However, I thought his conclusion was wrong. Building wasn’t the answer.
I had attended for three months so I felt I had a good sense of the leadership and the congregation. I thought the answer was more basic: Start preaching Biblical messages, presenting the message of the Cross, instead of tickling everyone’s ears, and the space problem would be fixed. How, you ask? People would Read the rest of this entry
Rethinking the Contemporary Worship Service
“It’s Sunday once again and we haven’t even pulled into the parking lot of the church but already the frustration is building. With a glance skyward I whisper a now familiar but heartfelt prayer: ‘Lord, let this be a meeting of the saints. Please let there be something real in the House of God today. No ridiculous nonsense, no overt heresy, no deceptive ploys cast in Your Name, no silly sales tactics. Let us hear some of Your everlasting and immutable truth; anointed and unfiltered. Challenge me through the singular preaching of Biblical doctrine. Dare me to strive for Holiness, to love more freely, and believe absolutely. Let this be the very church service where I die! Where my fleshly passions and desires are nailed on an ancient splintered Cross to be wholly absorbed into a pool of Regal Blood. Never to rise again.’
The words leave my heart but I hold out little hope. Not that I doubt my Lord but because I know the modern church all too well….”
My friend Jim over at LivingElect penned those words, but it could just as easily been written by myself or countless other Christians who have grown so VERY tired of the modern American church. A quick glance at those assembled on any Sunday leaves one thinking that everything is fine. People are smiling, sermons are preached, songs are sung, offerings are collected. But if we take Rafiki’s advice (Lion King) and “Looked Harder!” we see a different picture: believers who are spiritually mal-nourished, longing for just a sip of cold water and a stale piece of bread that never come. Week after week after week, the spiritual food never arrives, and the body becomes weak. This is where many of the Contemporary churches have led God’s people.
In an earlier post, I asked the question “Can We Bring Him More than a Song?” It was a question that Read the rest of this entry
Rethinking Contemporary Worship: Can We “Bring Him More Than a Song?”
Back in 1997, Matt Redman wrote the now famous song “The Heart of Worship” as a response to a challenge from his pastor. It seems that music had become an obstacle, perhaps even an idol to the congregation. So the pastor got rid of the band and the PA. For a month or so, they sang acapella. This song was born during that time and was Matt Redman’s personal response to the challenge.
Recently, we sang that song during a Sunday evening service. I was struck by one line in the song:
“I’ll bring you more than a song, for a song in itself Is not what you have required….”
The line struck a chord with me, and led to these two thoughts. First, if a song is not what He requires of us to worship him, then Read the rest of this entry
A Compelling Alternative to Calvinism? You Decide!
“What shall a Christian do who is convinced of certain central tenets of Calvinism but not its corollaries? Specifically, what if I am convinced that God elects individuals to salvation but I am also compelled by the evidence of Scripture to reject the notion that Christ died only for the elect? What if I am also convinced that the Calvinist doctrine of irresistible grace – that God gives saving grace only to the elect while withholding it from others – has little or no biblical foundation?”
“Calvinism has at least three dilemmas: (1) reconciling God’s sovereign election of individuals with His genuine desire for the salvation of all; (2) adhering to a deterministic view of sovereignty without blaming God for the fall of Adam; and (3) adhering to limited atonement and irresistible grace while also affirming that the gospel is genuinely offered to everyone. There is an alternative to Calvinism – called Read the rest of this entry
A 400 Year Old Prayer: “May I Honor You Today in All I Do”
The following prayer was first offered back in the 1700′s. It is from the largely forgotten deposit of the Puritan Movement of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. These people knew God and they certainly knew how to pray. We can learn a lot from them. They are written in old english. I have updated a few outdated words and changed the Thee’s and Thou’s to make it more 2011. However, they still have the feel of that era. This prayer, titled ’Morning Needs’, along with many others, can be found in a book titled “The Valley of Vision”, by Arthur Bennett.
O God the author of all good,
I come to You for the grace another day will require Read the rest of this entry
The Seeker-Sensitive Model: Has the Quest for “Relevance”, Made the Church Irrelevant?
In its quest to be “relevant”, has the seeker-sensitive church model become irrelevant? Has the desire to seem “seeker-friendly” actually made the church less friendly? Does the Seeker-Sensitive church model eternally benefit those whom it targets? My conclusion: The Seeker-Sensitive church Isn’t. It isn’t “friendly” and it isn’t relevant. Strong charges, I know. Bear with me a moment and walk through my argument.
The seeker-sensitive church model is good at doing what it does. It is good at creating a crowd, Read the rest of this entry
John MacArthur: “To Be A Christian Is To Be A Slave of Christ”
What is a Christian? What does it mean to be one? How should Christians order their lives? What priorities should captivate and compel those who call themselves Christians? In our day, it seems many who call themselves Christians are confused about this. Several months ago, I embarked on a study of the descriptive terms used in the Bible to describe Christians. I hypothesized, that understanding those terms, would shed much light on what it means to follow the Savior. I was right. It was a very nourishing exercise.
Would it surprise you to learn that the word “Christian” is one of the least used terms in the Bible to describe those who follow Christ? It occurs only three times. The two most common terms used to describe followers of Christ are: Disciple and Slave/Servant.
In his new book, “Slave: The Hidden Truth About Your identity In Christ”, Dr. John MacArthur focuses on the term “slave.” I was hooked by the end of the first page. Here are some great quotes from the book:
“When we call ourselves Christians, we proclaim to the world that everything about us, including our very self-identity, is found in Jesus Christ because we have denied ourselves in order to follow and obey him. He is both Savior and our Sovereign, and our lives center on pleasing Him. To claim the title is say Read the rest of this entry
A 400 year Old Prayer: “Today, May I live a Life That Honors You!”
The following prayer was first offered back in the 1700′s. It is from the largely forgotten deposit of the Puritan Movement of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. These people knew God and they certainly knew how to pray. We can learn a lot from them. They are written in old english. I have updated a few outdated words and changed the Thee’s and Thou’s to make it more 2011. However, they still have the feel of that era. This prayer, titled ’Morning Dedication’, along with many others, can be found in a book titled “The Valley of Vision”, by Arthur Bennett.
ALMIGHTY GOD,
As I begin this day
I commit myself, soul, body, affairs, friends, to your care;
Watch over, keep, guide, direct, sanctify, bless me.
Incline my heart to your ways;
Mould me wholly into the image of Jesus, as a potter forms clay;
May my lips be a well-tuned instrument to sound your praise;
Let those around see me living by your Spirit,
trampling the world underfoot,
unconformed to lying vanities,
transformed by a renewed mind,
clad in the entire armour of God,
shining as a never-dimmed light,
showing holiness in all I do.
Let no evil this day soil my thoughts, words, hands.
May I travel muddy paths with a life pure from spot or stain.
In those things I must do let my devotion be in heaven,
and my love soar upwards in flames of fire,
my gaze fixed on unseen things,
my eyes open to the emptiness, fragility,
mockery of earth and its arrogance.
May I view all things in the mirror of eternity,
waiting for the coming of my Lord,
listening for the last trumpet call,
hastening unto the new heaven and earth.
Order this day all my communications according to your wisdom,
and to the gain of mutual good.
Forbid that I should not be profited or made profitable.
May I speak each word as if my last word,
and walk each step as my final one.
If my life should end today, let this be my best day.
For more of these old prayers, check out our Prayer Page at: https://notforitchingears.com/prayer-of-the-week/
Jesus Christ: Hell is A Real Place and Real People Will Go There.
A Bible Study on the Biblical topic of Hell based on Revelation chapter 14. This is an audio message given by Jim Greer (me). I thought I would post it since Rob Bell has come out so strongly against the concept in his “Love Wins” book. Like Rob Bell, I would prefer that Hell was not an option. However, what you or I prefer doesn’t change how things are. The most important question is not what I would like to be true. Rather it is what does the Bible say about the topic? What did Jesus himself teach about Hell? Sadly, He taught that Hell is a real place and real people will go there.
Christ-Centered Worship Songs: “Perfect Lamb of God”
We have noticed a disturbing trend in the corporate worship songs of the church. Perhaps you have too? It seems that we sing very little about the main point of Christianity. This is due, in large part, to church leaderships desire to be more “sensitive” to those who attend the service but are not Christians.
The research tells us (we are told), that non-Christians don’t really want to hear about sin and guilt and being accountable to a holy God. Hearing about a Savior dying on a bloody cross for their sins is not high on their priority list. To reach them, we must eliminate these topics from our sermons and our songs. Sadly, much of the Evangelical church has mistakenly signed on to this approach. We could not disagree more strongly!
The message of a crucified and risen Savior and the reconciliation that this can bring is the only message the church has! It is the one and only message the church has been entrusted with and that the lost so desperately needs to hear.
As one who has been responsible for leading corporate singing for years,…
I can attest to how frustrating it has become to find songs that are worth singing! There are many out there, but it takes time to find them. Because of this, we have started a new feature at Not For Itching Ears. Each week, we will post one worthy (at least in our opinion) worship song for you to listen to. We will post the lyrics as well as the Mp3 along with a chord chart when possible. This weeks selection is “Perfect lamb of God”, by Adam Sacks. We hope you enjoy it. Caution: The first time I heard this song I hit the skip button. It has a Jewish flavor to it, and the intro to the song made me falsely assume that I would not like it. I was wrong! Read the lyrics first and then Read the rest of this entry
The God of Calvinism and A Calvinists translation of John 3:16-18?
I thought I might stir things up a bit today. A friend wrote this story and titled it “The God of Calvinism. He didn’t add the question mark, that was my addition. Is this the God that true Calvinism depicts? Read this story by Kurt Dahlin and share your thoughts. Read the rest of this entry
Get This Must Have Book On Early Church History
The Dictionary of Early Christian Beliefs by David W. Bercot, is a must have book for anyone interested in learning what the early church fathers taught. Extremely informative and very easy to read and use! I am thrilled that I found it about 3 years ago. So much so, that I wanted to let you all know about it.
Most evangelical disciples of the 21st century have had their theological views shaped primarily from the arguments of the 1500’s. That is 1500+ years removed from the actual events. Wouldn’t it be nice to be able to go back and read what the early disciples taught about these matters? Of course, you can, but it has been a tedious endeavor. Up until now. This book is written in a format that allows simple and easy access to the writings of the early church fathers of the first 300 years of church history (The Anti-Nicene Fathers).
How did the disciples of the Apostles and their disciples view original sin, the trinity, free-will, predestination, God’s sovereignty and fore-knowledge, worship, music in church services, parenting, salvation, eternal security or Read the rest of this entry
Christ-Centered Worship Songs: “Through the Precious Blood”
This column, “Cross-Centered Worship Songs”, was started as a way to serve my many worship leading friends. I hope to introduce some of the lesser known songs out there that you may not have heard.
We will be posting songs from different genres: hymns, a capella, contemporary rock, etc. We will post the lyrics as well as the Mp3 along with a chord chart when possible. I hope you find it helpful. If you do, please let us know! This weeks selection “Throught the Precious Blood” is a medium tempo song in 6/8 time. Read the rest of this entry
Worship Leader Make-Over: Choosing New Songs Wisely
There was a time, not to long ago, when choosing a new song for corporate worship wasn’t that difficult. There weren’t that many out there to choose from! Christian Radio wasn’t much help. If you walked into a Christian bookstore, you would find an 8′ x 4′ section dedicated to contemporary music. You heard that new song at a friends church or a conference, and that was it. Then, in the 80’s, Hosanna Integrity and the Vineyard began producing bi-monthly worship tapes. They were very succesful and their success helped catapult the fledgling contemporary christian music scene into what it has now become.
Finding new songs to choose from is no longer difficult. They are everywhere. Finding great new songs is a more tedious task. If you are responsible for leading the corporate singing time of your congregation, you are well aware of this challenge. So how do you go about choosing new songs for the congregation? What process do you use to help weed out the mediocre or poorly written songs, or do you have a process? What criteria should you use?
Allow me to share the number one thing I do to help me in this process. Over the years it has helped me more than anything else I could share. It is simply this: Read the rest of this entry
Is Using Instruments in Corporate Worship A Violation of the New Testament? An Argument from 1864
“I prefer reading books written by dead men!”, an old man of God once told me. When I asked him why, he told me that books by great men of God who are no longer with us, are not influenced by our current cultural trends. Their understanding of God’s word is not colored by the same issues that affect us in our day. Many of the issues we face, were not even around back then. It is refreshing to read books by people who do not have a horse in the race, so to speak. Over the years, I have come to appreciate that perspective and have adopted it as my own.
On a recent trip to the Goodwill, I found a very old commentary on the Book of Acts, written by J.W. McGarvey in 1863. (I bought it at for .99 cents!) As I read it, I began to tear up. “Where are these men today Lord?” I asked out loud.
I did a little research on the man who wrote the commentary. One of the things I found was this very interesting article titled “Instrumental Music in Churches.” He was against it and argued from the Scriptures that instruments were not to be used in the Church era. He wrote this article in 1864, at a time when most churches Read the rest of this entry
Christ-Centered Worship Songs: Leading Worship at a Funeral
It was the most difficult “worship” service I have ever had the honor of planning or leading. On a cold January morning, the pastor called me into his office. One of the young ladies in our congregation had died in a horrible car crash. She was only 20. “Jim,” the pastor said, “we’ve been asked to lead worship for her service. I am putting you in charge.” Nicole had been “The Girl of The West” which was a very big deal out here in Colorado. Because of this, her memorial service had to be moved to a much larger facility. We expected over 500 people to attend. I was overwhelmed by the assignment!
Leading worship at a funeral for a genuine believer is no small task. Yes, we gather to celebrate their life, but the emotion present in those gathered is not celebratory. It is grief, gut wrenching heartache, over the loss of someone they love. Few people feel like singing. In addition, many who attend the service will not know the Savior. If you are asked to lead worship in this situation, you will need songs that help people express their pain and their hope in the resurrection. You will also need songs that call unbelievers attention to the Savior.
I don’t remember the songs we chose for Nicole’s service. I do recall there were several drafts, and that I was not completely happy with our final choices. I wish I had known about Read the rest of this entry
John Piper: “Don’t Waste Your Life”
“It is possible to waste your life. Few things make me tremble more than the possibility of taking this onetime gift of life and wasting it. Every morning when I walked into the kitchen as a boy I saw hanging on the wall the plaque that now hangs in my living room: “Only one life, twill soon be past, only what’s done for Christ will last.” And now I am almost 58, and the river of life is spilling over the falls of my days with tremendous speed. More and more I smell eternity. And oh, how I want to use my life well. It is so short and so fragile and so final. You get one chance to live your life. And then the judgment. I speak as a father who has children your age, and I am jealous with Jesus that they and you not waste your life. “
“What is the unwasted life? What does it look like? What is the essence of the unwasted life? Read the rest of this entry
A 300 year Old Prayer: “Father, Occupy the Throne of My Heart”
The following prayer was first offered back in the 1700′s. It is from the largely forgotten deposit of the Puritan Movement of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. These people knew God and they certainly knew how to pray. We can learn a lot from them. They are written in old english. I have updated a few outdated words and changed the Thee’s and Thou’s to make it more 2011. However, they still have the feel of that era. This prayer, titled ‘Regeneration’, along with many others, can be found in a book titled “The Valley of Vision”, by Arthur Bennett. Read the rest of this entry
Cross-Centered Worship Songs: “The Father’s Love”
This column, “Cross-Centered Worship Songs”, was started as a way to serve my many worship leading friends. I hope to introduce some of the lesser known songs out there that you may not have heard. We will be posting songs from different genres: hymns, a capella, contemporary rock, etc. We will post the lyrics as well as the Mp3 along with a chord chart when possible. I hope you find it helpful. If you do, please let us know! This weeks selection “The Father’s Love” is an up-tempo, guitar driven song written by Joel Sczebel. A Gospel saturated song that calls us to rejoice in what God accomplished at Calvary. Read the rest of this entry
Not For Itching Ears 